Ted's Polish-Mexican Page

As if it's not bad enough that I have to suffer from the snotty Heidi Klum on commercials for Project Runway, she shows up to disturb my soccer enjoyment.

Goleo VI seems to be enjoying himself though.


The United States will be facing Italy, Ghana and the Czech Republic in the first round. The US will have trouble, to say the least, with Italy, but can beat Ghana and the Czech Republic. However, it is instructive to remember that Italy only barely made it out of their qualifying group at the last World Cup after being defeated by Croatia and getting a sister-kisser against México, only to be crashed out after being beaten by Korea Republic in the next round. A well coached US side can make it out of this group.


México, being a top seed, got a rather easy draw. They are in group D with Iran, Portugal and Angola. Portugal is a chronic underperformer at World Cups, strange given how many top players they have. The Selecção das Quinas only managed to win once, against Poland, at the 2002 World Cup. El Tricolor should manage, at a minimum, seven points, from this group.


Poland got a tough draw. They are in a group with hosts and former champions Germany, but many of Poland's players play there. I am always told that that is supposed to mean something. They also drew Costa Rica and Ecuador. Both teams are relatively strong, they have decent leagues in their home countries and many players in top foreign leagues. They are both capable of defeating all but the best teams on any given day. Let's face it, the Biało-czerwoni is not one of the best teams.


The "Group of Death" (not trademarked!) this cup has been determined by the football gods to be group C. I think there is a requirement that the "Group of Death" include Argentina. This time, it's Argentina, Côte d'Ivoire, Serbia and Montenegro, and Netherlands.

To be the "Group of Death," the group must be all quality teams so every game becomes a "must win." There would be no minnows that give a team an easy three points. I see an awful lot of parity in most of these groups though. I see group H, with Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, as another "Group of Death." Maybe it is a more intriguing one since many of the teams are unknown to most fans, making for more interesting matchups.


The June 10, 2002 cover of ESPN: The Magazine featured Landon Donovan, Clint Mathis and DaMarcus Beasley and the tag line: "Why not US? Well...Argentina, France, Italy, Portugal, but We Can Dream!"

Argentina, France and Portugal failed to make the second round. The United States actually made it further than Italy. In fact, the "final four" included Turkey and Korea Republic! I read at the time some grousing that those two teams only made it because of the lack of quality of the teams that came out of the first round. But whose fault is that?

My point here is that teams worldwide have gotten better, and it is hard to predict who can make it to the final rounds. A team like Costa Rica may not be able to win the whole thing, but they can certainly make it far and make life difficult for other teams. Also, the structure and mathematics of the first round can make it difficult to come back after an upset. In 2002, the French found it impossible to recover after being defeated by Senegal.


Hasta la proxima. Do zobaczenia.